In 720 BC, in the third year of the Reign of Lu Yin, "August Gengchen, Duke of Song and Death." "Why did Song Gonghe, that is, Song Mugong, solemnly record his death in the history books and write a biography for him? This is because of a special tradition of the Song Dynasty, which is different from the tradition of the Zhou Dynasty at that time, that is, the inheritance system of the song kingdom. We know that the ritual system formulated by the Duke of Zhou for the Zhou Dynasty stipulated the system of primogeniture, that is to say, whether the inheritance of the status of the monarch or the inheritance of wealth was mainly based on the eldest son. The Song Dynasty did not fully follow the Zhou gongli system, but retained its own traditions.
Song Feng
The State of Song was an interesting vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and there are many fables related to the State of Song, such as Han Feizi's "Zhizi Doubting Neighbors", "Song People Drinking Wine", "Guarding the Plant and Waiting for rabbits", Mencius's "Seedlings To Promote Growth", etc., together with its neighbor Zheng Guo, it has become the object of ridicule. Zheng Guo was because the country was weak later, and the Song State was once a big country, why did it become the object of ridicule by everyone? This is mainly because of the origin of the Song Dynasty. The State of Song was a descendant of Yin Shang, and after the destruction of Shang Byo, King Muye of Zhou, divided wu Geng, the son of king Wu, in the original Chaoge area, managed the remnants of Yin shang, and sacrificed the ancestors of Yin shang. In order to prevent the resurgence of Yin Shang, King Wu of Zhou arranged for the fiefdoms of his younger brothers Guan Shu and Cai Shu to be supervised next to the fiefs of Wu Geng.
After the death of King Wu of Zhou, the Duke of Zhou became regent. Uncle Cai colluded with Wu Geng in a joint rebellion, and after being extinguished by the Duke of Zhou, Wu Geng was killed. Therefore, the Duke of Zhou moved a part of the remnants of Yin Shang to the Shangqiu area, and divided the brother of king Huan as the Duke of Song. Therefore, the Song Kingdom was a descendant of Yin Shang, and the title was Gong. As a remnant of the former dynasty, it is bound to be suspected by the Zhou Dynasty and become the object of ridicule by everyone. The system implemented by the Song Dynasty retained many of the ritual systems of Yin Shang, which were still different from the ritual systems of the Zhou Dynasty. In terms of inheritance, the State of Song did not adhere to the strict system of primogeniture, and there were often cases of brothers and brothers, as well as the selection of talents among the Gong clan, and Song Mugong was such a result.
The legacy of courtesy
In 720 BC, in the third year of the Hidden Duke, according to the Spring and Autumn Left Biography:
Song Mugong was ill, summoning Sima Kong's father and belonging to the Gong Yan, he said: "The first king and Yi and established a widow, and the widow dared to forget." If the spirit of the Doctor is to protect the chief, if the First King asks and Yi, what will he say? Ask the Son to serve him, and to the Lord, even though the widow dies, he has no remorse. ”
This was the political will of Duke Mu of Song, who wanted to pass the throne to his brother's son Youyi and give up his son Gongzi Feng. He entrusted Heyi to his trusted chancellor Sima Kong's father, asking him to assist Yuyi well and not let himself down. The reason why Song Mugong did this was because his position as monarch came from Heyi's father, his brother Song Xuangong. Song Xuangong believed that his younger brother Song Mugong was a virtuous man who could govern the Song kingdom better, so he gave up his son Prince Heyi. For the trust of Song Xuangong, Song Mugong has always been grateful, and he is not willing to live up to Song Xuangong's trust, so before his death, he decided to pass the throne to Youyi and gave up his son Gongzi Feng.
resolve
Will things go this way? The first to object was The Great Sima Kong's father, who had a well-known descendant, the founder of Confucianism, the Most Holy Ancestor Confucius. Song Mugong had always done a good job and had already established his prestige, and once Mu Gong passed away, the courtiers were willing to serve Gongzi Feng as the mainstay. Song Mugong did not approve of the group's ideas, and he commanded:
"No, you can't. If the ancestors regard the widows as the sages, and make the lord of the society, if they abandon virtue and do not let them, it is an act of abolishing the ancestors, how can they be virtuous? The order of the guangzhao ancestors, can it not be done? My Son has no merit of the emperor. "Make Gongzi Feng live in Zheng." August Gengchen, Song Mugong. The Duke of Mortem is on the throne.
It can be seen that Song Mugong's abdication of the throne is sincere, not a temptation to the courtiers. He possessed the virtues of the sages of the past, was not greedy or arrogant, was willing to hand over the country to a more suitable person, and was unwilling to undermine the national order of the Song Dynasty. From this point of view, Song Mugong is noble, and he has no stain on the moral level. Gongzi Feng was released to Zheng Guo, and Yi Smoothly succeeded to the throne, becoming the future Duke of Song.
advantages and disadvantages
Yin Shang had a brother and a brother and a succession system of selecting talents and appointing talents, which was the perfect system for the later Confucian yearning for Yao Shun Yu Tang, and even now, we will think that he is more morally valid than the inheritance system of the eldest son. But is the system of succession of the elected monarch really better than the system of succession of the eldest son? Historical facts will snap in the face! Yao Shunyu's Zen system allowed posterity to hold them up to the heavens, and Bo Yi Shuqi of the Lone bamboo country let the sages go and let them become the representatives of the sages, but such successful examples are rare, and it is not necessarily that they have brought much benefit to the country by doing so. But counter-examples abound.
When Wu Zixu entered the state of Wu, the state of Wu was becoming unstable because of such a system of succession to the monarch. Wu Wangyi was finally killed by Gongzi Guang because of this monarchical system, he gave too many people hope, making greedy people unscrupulous. The later Yan kingdom once made the Yan kingdom almost perish because it imitated the Zen system. Later Zen concessions became a fig leaf for careerists, and no one in Zen was forced, and none of them were willing. This system was brought into full play by the Yuan Dynasty, and the unstable inheritance system of the Yuan Dynasty made it destroyed before it lasted for a hundred years.
Although the primogeniture system may not be able to select the best heirs, he is stable. He gave everyone a stable expectation, so that those ambitionists would always have a demon roaring in their hearts, and they would never be able to obtain the peace of the spiritual world. Therefore, the primogeniture system is more suitable for the social situation of the feudal era, and he can ensure the smooth transition of the monarch's power.
End
On the surface, yin shang's inheritance of the sages and emperors was better than the inheritance system of the firstborn son of the Duke of Zhou, but in the practice of feudal society, it was not better than the system of the Duke of Zhou. There are stable expectations for the succession of the eldest son; and there is no stable expectation for the selection of talents, and everyone has the opportunity, which will inevitably cause internal attrition and, in severe cases, the demise of the country. This is often said that "the step is too big to pull what", "practice is the only criterion for testing the truth", only the system suitable for the actual situation is a good system, backward or ahead will bring problems, so the shoe fit is not suitable only with the foot through to know. Gongzi Feng's story is not over, he will also kill back to the Song Kingdom, when he will bring a different kind of monarch to the Song Kingdom.